Developing Reading Experiences among Kindergarten Children through Phetchaburi Folk Tales
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Abstract
This research aimed to: 1) study and analyze fundamental information regarding the reading behaviors of Kindergarten 3 children; 2) develop Phetchaburi local tale storybooks and reading experience plans that are appropriate for children’s developmental levels and local cultural context; 3) implement the developed storybooks and reading experience plans with Kindergarten 3 children; and 4) evaluate the effectiveness of these innovations by comparing children’s reading behaviors and their knowledge of local culture before and after the intervention. The study employed a Research and Development (R&D) design. The participants were 60 Kindergarten 3 children, aged 5–6 years, selected through purposive sampling. The research instruments included a document analysis form, interview forms, and performance-based assessment tools measuring two key aspects of reading: “reading knowledge” and “reading motivation.” All instruments were validated by experts using the Item–Objective Congruence (IOC) technique and were pilot-tested prior to actual implementation. Data were analyzed through content analysis and descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation, and percentage, together with the dependent t-test to compare children’s reading behaviors and their knowledge of local culture before and after the experiment.
The research findings revealed that: 1) The overall reading behaviors of Kindergarten 3 children were at a moderate level. Children exhibited inconsistent interest in reading and demonstrated limited ability to use new vocabulary. The synthesized reading behavior indicators were used as a framework for developing the innovations. 2) Four storybooks and twelve reading experience plans received expert evaluations at a “high” level of quality (M = 4.62, S.D. = 0.41), reflecting their appropriateness in terms of content, language, illustrations, and alignment with the local Phetchaburi context. 3) During the implementation, children actively participated and responded well to the activities. They learned new vocabulary and were able to connect story content with their real-life experiences. 4) After the intervention, children’s reading behaviors and local knowledge significantly improved at the 0.01 level. Reading performance increased from 65.20% to 89.35%. Additionally, teachers and experts rated the innovations as highly appropriate and highly beneficial (M = 4.70, S.D. = 0.28)
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